Climate Food and Agriculture

All Stories

  • Don’t Have a Cow

    About 20 percent of farm-animal breeds* are endangered, says FAO Word association time: What comes to mind when you think “endangered animals”? Odd-looking tropical frogs and obscure birds with funny names? Time to adjust your thinking: The U.N. Food and Agriculture Organization estimates that one in five breeds of farm animal are in danger of […]

    Grist staff Food

  • It’s time for a real ‘food vs. fuel’ debate

    Can U.S. farmers keep filling the nation’s bellies as they scramble to fuel its cars? Given its evident gravity, the question has drawn remarkably little debate. Like it or not, though, more and more food is being devoted to fueling the nation’s 211-million-strong auto fleet. High gasoline prices, a dizzying variety of government supports, and […]

    Tom Philpott Climate & Energy

  • A Krafty concoction of hydrogenated goo gets its day in court.

    Do I live in an ethanol bubble? Yes I do, for another day or so.

    But I'm coming up for air for long enough to give the finger to Kraft, the world's largest branded food conglomerate, for ripping off and desecrating one of the world's greatest food items.

    Kraft's heinous Guacamole Dip contains about 2 percent avocado, which is a little like marketing a Martini with 2 percent gin and the rest, well, corn liquor (ethanol).

    A woman in California is suing Kraft, arguing that the "guacamole" claim fraudulently promised an avocado-based concoction, and instead delivered, well, industrial goo designed to look avocado-y.

    Does she have a case?

    Tom Philpott Food

  • An interview with David Pimentel

    Any worthy idea can withstand and even be improved by naysayers; scolds and skeptics play the useful role of pointing out obvious flaws. The biofuels industry has no more persistent, articulate, and scathing critic than David Pimentel, professor emeritus of entomology at Cornell University. David Pimentel. Photo: Chris Hallman / Cornell University Photography. In 1979, […]

    Tom Philpott Climate & Energy

  • A look at the impacts of biofuels production, in the U.S. and the world

    Nothing but blue skies from now on? Photo: house.gov Great news! We can finally scratch “driving less” off our list of ways to curb global warming and reduce our dependence on foreign oil! Biofuels will soon not only replace much of our petroleum, but improve soil fertility and save the American farmer as well! Sound […]

    Julia Olmstead Climate & Energy

  • Group lobbies Starbucks to cut the rBGH

    Tired of being cowed into drinking milk laced with artificial growth hormones simply because you can't kick the latte habit? Find it udderly disgusting that the largest food and beverage retailers in the world proliferate antibiotics? Wish Grist would stop milking the cow-related puns?

    Well, today you can join in with Food and Water Watch's Hold the Hormones campaign by calling Starbucks and asking them to stop buying milk from dairies that use artificial growth hormones. The D.C.-based nonprofit offers up 10 good reasons to get involved.

    Kate Sheppard Food

  • Moopheus and the gang partner with ‘Fast Food Nation’

    They've seen the family farm become a factory farm. They've learned the truth about industrial dairy facilities. And now they're trying to escape the perils of a meatpacking plant. They are Leo, Moopheus, and Chickity, the animated stars of a series of short films by Free Range Studios and nonprof Sustainable Table.

    This latest version of the Matrix spoofs is Meatrix II½, and this time, they've partnered with Fast Food Nation to promote the film and help raise awareness about the production of fast food.

    Unfortunately, it looks like Fast Food Nation hasn't done too well in theaters. Opening weekend, the film made just $390,000 compared to number-one film Happy Feet, which debuted at $42.3 million.

    Interestingly, that same weekend, Saw III, a horror flick I had referenced in describing the surprising level of gore in Fast Food Nation, made $2.8 million, more than seven times as much as moola as FFN. (Get it? Ha ha, moo-la. Ahem.) I guess that's the difference between having a major marketing firm pushing your film and leaving it to a cow in dark glasses.

    Below the fold, The Meatrix II½ via YouTube, a lower-quality version for those of you too lazy to click this link.

    Grist staff Food

  • Till There Was You

    Researchers hope new crops, methods will help farmers fight climate effects Agricultural researchers are joining the legions who are working to help the world respond to climate change. A coalition called the Consultative Group on International Agricultural Research (which goes by the just-shy-of-delicious acronym CGIAR) is launching an initiative today that will pour money into […]

    Grist staff Food

  • Do Not Giggle

    Livestock sector spews a fifth of human-caused greenhouse-gas emissions, says U.N. The U.N. has issued fresh content on a vital cause of global warming: cow farts. It seems that 18 percent of human-caused greenhouse gases stem from farm animals and the livestock industry, according to the U.N. Food and Agriculture Organization. Besides poots, agriculture-related deforestation […]

    Grist staff Climate & Energy

  • Umbra on sustainable sushi

    Dear Umbra, My wife and I love sushi, but we’re increasingly concerned about sustainable harvesting. Although we treat ourselves to sushi only once or twice a month, it adds up, and we can’t help but wonder about the impact. There’s no sensation in the world like letting a slab of sashimi salmon dissolve in your […]

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